1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
379 
Plants in Iron Vase. 
B. W. L., New Jersey .—What plants can I use to 
fill an iron vase, to be placed In a sunny situa¬ 
tion ? 
Ans. —An iron vase in a sunny situa¬ 
tion is likely to become extremely warm 
during the summer, and is not a very 
desirable receptacle. It would be a good 
plan to line the sides with boards, thus 
keeping the roots away from the baking 
iron. Put plenty of coarse drainage in 
the bottom, and use rich earth, for you 
will have a number of hungry plants in 
the vase. Use plenty of vines ; they 
will screen the sides, and keep the sun 
off. Nasturtiums are always useful, and 
Mme. Gunther’s hybrids are particularly 
beautiful. Pfordt’s Passion-vine, Varie¬ 
gated Vinca, Cobaea, and Lophospermum, 
with its beautiful crimson-pink bells, 
are all handsome. Next to the vines 
use petunias, as their sprawling habit 
makes them very suitable. Good gera¬ 
niums or Lantanas will do for taller 
plants, and in the center a dwarf Canna 
or Dractena will give satisfaction. It 
must be remembered that the vase will 
dry out rapidly, therefore it must be 
well watered ; not a mere splashing over 
the foliage, but a thorough soaking, 
that will permeate the entire mass of 
soil. 
Roses—Dying Lawn. 
M. B., Bergen, County, N.J. —1. My outdoor roses 
do not seem to be doing: well; they look stunted, 
show few signs of bloom, and the leaves are 
feeble. They have been in the same place for 
several seasons, and perhaps the soil is not rich 
enough. They have a lot of little green insects 
on the tender shoots. 2. My lawn is dying and 
turning brown in patches here and there, while 
the remainder is in good condition. Is it a 
disease ? 
Ans — 1. Prune the roses quite severe¬ 
ly, and keep the surface of the soil 
loosened and in good condition. In the 
autumn give them another but lighter 
pruning, and transplant to another situ¬ 
ation, where the ground has been 
well prepared and enriched. The small 
green insects are aphides. Spray them 
thoroughly with tobacco tea, whale-oil 
soap solution, or kerosene emulsion. 
2. There is little doubt that the dying 
spots in the lawn, of which M. B. com¬ 
plains, are due to the larva? of the May 
beetle or “June bug”, the clumsy insect 
so often seen bumping about our lighted 
rooms at night in early summer. These 
larvae, commonly known as White grubs, 
are very destructive, feeding on the 
roots of grass and other plants. In a 
lawn, their presence is marked by sere, 
brown patches and, frequently, the 
roots are so completely severed from the 
plant that the turf can be lifted up like 
a rug. There appears to be no remedy 
when the grubs once get in a lawn, ex¬ 
cept turning up the suspected patches 
and searching for the insects, though 
Prof. Smith states in his book, Economic 
Entomology, that where grass lands are 
infested, heavy top-dressings of kainit 
and nitrate of soda have proved bene¬ 
ficial. Where farm land is thus trou¬ 
bled, fall plowing is advised, especially 
when chickens follow in the furrows to 
MOTHERS. —Be sure to use “Mrs. Wins¬ 
low’s Soothing Syrup ” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Adv. 
r 7 
'fcS pick up the grabs. The use of soil m- 
fested with White grubs in the green¬ 
house benches, occasionally causes great 
damage to forced roses. 
Fuchsias — Oxalis. 
A. R. L., Connecticut. —1. Can the Fuchsia be 
used as a bedding plant, and if so, what situation 
is best for it ? 2. Can the Oxalis be planted out in 
a bed, after blooming in the house during the 
winter ? 
Ans. —In this country, we rarely see 
the Fuchsia doing well as a bedding 
plant, because it is usually planted in a 
dry, exposed situation, and it does not 
enjoy our hot summers. In England, it 
grows luxuriantly, and makes a showy 
feature in the garden. Still this plant 
can be used here, if its needs are con¬ 
sulted. A somewhat shaded situation, 
with a northeast exposure, suits ad¬ 
mirably, or an east-facing border, where 
shade is provided during the warmer 
part of the day. The soil should be light 
loam, well enriched, and the plants 
must be watered quite freely. During 
a prolonged hot, dry spell, the foliage 
should be well sprayed each evening, to 
prevent red spider, which is troublesome 
on' Fuchsias if once allowed to gain a 
foothold. Under these conditions, the 
plants produce a profusion of bloom. 
The plants should be hardened by being 
placed in a cool, airy greenhouse before 
they are sent out; if they have been 
kept very warm, they are likely to drop 
some of their leaves when first put out. 
2. When used for bedding, the Oxalis 
should not be grown on during the win¬ 
ter, but dried and rested. The pink 
variety commonly grown (0. rosea) will 
do well outside, but it must be put in a 
sunny place, as the flowers do not open 
in the shade. The red-flowered Oxalis 
Deppei is grown in Europe outside in 
the open ground as a vegetable, the 
tuberous roots being boiled and pre¬ 
pared with sauce, while the acid leaves 
are used, like sorrel, to flavor soups, and 
the flowers are put in salads. We must 
own that Oxalis roots, like Jerusalem 
artichokes and Elephant’s ear Caladium 
tubers, would seem an acquired taste; 
after several efforts in that direction, 
we still prefer the humble everyday 
potato. 
Seasonable Notes. 
Where bulbs are left in the ground all 
summer, as in some herbaceous beds, 
these beds should not be mulched, as 
this is likely to cause the bulbs to start 
up again in the fall. Leave the mulch¬ 
ing until settled cold weather; it is an 
error to cover such beds too early in 
autumn, just as it is to leave the cover¬ 
ing on too late in the spring. In plant¬ 
ing tulips in a permanent bed, it is well 
to use some of the species, as well as 
garden varieties. Gesner’s tulip (Tulipa 
Gesneriana), the Levantine plant from 
which many of our garden tulips derive 
their brilliancy, is eminently satisfac¬ 
tory, especially a brilliant red form, 
with purple-black center. The Parrot 
tulips, too, are excellent in a permanent 
bed, their extraordinary colors and 
shapes always attracting admiration. 
All the house plants are set outside by 
this time, excepting some of the tender- 
est ferns or Begonias. Palms or rubbers 
may be stood on the piazza or in the 
shade under trees, or they may be placed 
in a shaded bed with the pots plunged 
to the rim in the earth. The only ob¬ 
jection to this last plan is the risk of 
earthworms getting into the pots. 
Florists who keep some of their palms 
outside during the summer, usually set 
the pots in a bed of sifted coal ashes, 
raised off the ground by a few loose 
boards. This circumvents the worms, 
and lessens the watering necessary, as 
the ashes prevent the earth in the pots 
from drying out quite so rapidly. Where 
there is no natural shade, such plants 
are usually put under lattice roofs. 
Azaleas, Acacias, and a variety of green¬ 
house shrubs are cared for during the 
summer in this way. 
The pansies sown last August, and 
wintered over, are now failing, while 
spring-sown pansies are coming into fine 
bloom. It must be remembered that 
prevention of seeding prolongs the 
blooming season, so the blooms may be 
plucked lavishly. If it be desired to save 
seed, however, better not defer it much 
longer, and be sure that the best blooms 
are reserved for this purpose. 
At this season, one can appreciate the 
beauty of a permanent herbaceous bed, 
where our old favorites appear year after 
year, with little care beyond the removal 
of weeds and an occasional mulch. 
About Decoration Day, the peonies are 
flaunting their brilliant colors. The 
earliest are the old Officinalis peony and 
its varieties, which bloom from the mid¬ 
dle to the end of May ; these are fol¬ 
lowed by the Chinese varieties, bloom¬ 
ing through June and July. To those 
who know only the old-fashioned Euro¬ 
pean sorts, some of the newer Chinese 
sorts are a revelation. These peonies 
are hardy, free from insects or disease, 
and handsome even when out of bloom, 
making one of the finest herbaceous 
plants the amateur can grow. They like 
a good, rather moist ground, in an open 
but not exposed position. Though they 
will continue to do well for an indefinite 
period in the same place, they are the 
better for being moved every few years. 
l\ 
VICTORIES.^* 
FOUR MEDALS—3 Gold and 1 Silver, World’s Centennial 
Cotton Ex position, Ne w Orleans, 1884. 
HIGHEST AW ARDS—Nebr aska Agricultural Fair, 1887. 
DIPLOMA—Alabama Agr’l Society, Montgomery, 1888. 
| AWARD—Chattahoochie 
bus, Ga., 1888. 
Valley Exposition, Colum- 
HIGHEST AWARDS-St. Louis Agricultural 
Mechanical Association, 1889. 
and Iisgal 
COP 
PfcR 
HtSlBcx 
GOLD MEDALS and 6 DIPLOMAS—World’s Colum- te.l 0 ' 0 
bian Exposition, Chicago, 1893. 
HIGHEST AWARDS—Western Fair Association, Lon¬ 
don, Canada, 1893. 
| SIX GOLD MEDALS and Dipjomas—California Midwinter Fair ’94 
SILVER MEDAL —Industrial Expo si tion, Toronto . Canada, 1895. 
345,584 Home Comfort Ranges Sol<t Co Jan. 
C ??~Range illustrated sold throughout the United States and 
the Canadas at a uni form price from our ow n wagons. 
Made of open hearth, cold rolled steel-plate and malleable 
I iron —will last a life-time with ordinary care. 
WROUGHT IRON RANGE CO., 
Founded 1864. Paid-up Capital $1,000,000. 
Factories, Salesrooms and Offices: ST. LOUIS, MO., and TORONTO, CANADA. 
Western Salesrooms and offices: DENVER, €01.0. 
S^"We manufacture and carry a complete stock of Hotel Ranges and Kitchen goods, also the 
unequaled HOME COMFORT STEEL FURNACES. Write for catalogue and prices. 
What lamp-chimney is it 
that lasts like a teacup and 
gets the best light a lamp is 
capable of? 
Macbeth’s; but you want 
the Number made for your 
lamp. Let us send you the 
Index. 
Geo A Macbeth Co 
Pittsburgh Pa 
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THE RURAL, NEW-YORKER. 
Corner Chambers and Pearl Streets, New York. 
